Multiple Sclerosis: Diagnosis (Nursing)

00:00 Now, when it comes to diagnosis of MS, I'm going to talk about four main areas.

00:05 When it comes to blood test, we really don't have as good of ideas we'd like to right now, but it's coming.

00:12 We do do some blood tests that will help rule out other diseases with symptoms that are similar to MS, but that's about the best we have right now.

00:20 Hopefully, soon, we'll have some specific test that will go for specific biomarkers that are associated with MS, but they're not quite ready for prime time yet.

00:30 So, we have blood tests that will predominantly rule out other disorders that are similar to MS.

00:36 We can do a spinal tap or a lumbar puncture.

00:39 And this can show us abnormalities and antibodies that are associated with MS.

00:43 So, it can also help us rule out if the patient is having some kind of infection or other condition.

00:49 Hey, you're picking up a theme here? Look, there's really not a blood test that says, "You have MS." It just says you don't have these other things that we think could look like MS.

00:59 When we talk about a spinal tap, they can show us some abnormalities and antibodies, but it can also help us say, "Oh, yeah. Your symptoms aren't caused by this." So, we can rule out infections or other conditions.

01:11 So, the first two tests look at body fluids, right? We're looking at blood tests and then we're looking at a spinal taps, we're looking at cerebral spinal fluid.

01:19 The next two tests are ones that we perform on the patient.

01:23 So, an MRI can reveal areas of MS lesions on brain or the spinal cord.

01:29 Now, if we inject in their IV a contrast material, it really highlight those lesions, and we can look at the disease, especially if they're in an active phase.

01:39 So, the first two tests, we're looking at body fluids.

01:42 These two tests are things that we will roll the patient into to do the test.

01:47 So, MRI can show us lesions, particularly if we use contrast dye in an active phase of the disease.

01:53 Now, the last one is just fun to say.

01:55 Evoke to potential tests.

01:57 It just sounds very regal.

01:58 It is pretty cool, though, because they can record electrical signals produced by the nervous system in response to stimuli.

02:05 So, these electrodes will measure how quickly the information travels down your nerve pathways.

02:10 Okay, cool, but stop and think for just a minute.

02:15 Why in the diagnosis of MS am I looking at how quickly information travels down your nerve pathways? Because MS scars the myelin sheath in the CNS, that means that it interrupts those transmissions.

02:30 That makes sense then.

02:32 That's why the MRI and the evoked potential tests are really helpful.

02:36 Now, see if you can stop and remember, what's the name of the two body fluid tests that we can also do to help us rule out other things than MS? Cool.

02:47 Blood and a lumbar puncture.

02:50 Good work.

02:51 Every time you stop, pause, and recall with us, you're really helping your brain grasps these concepts at a deeper level.